Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday again dismissed the criticism as “unnecessary emotions that had only an artificial basis.”
“Now the law has already come into force and we all have to act pragmatically, with a cool mind and put aside unnecessary emotions,” he said.
Over the weekend, the opposition United National Movement said that a crowd of masked men attacked its central offices in Tbilisi, smashing windows and damaging property. It alleged that the attackers were linked to the ruling party. The Interior Ministry has opened a probe on charges of property damage.
The controversial legislation is nearly identical to one that the ruling party was pressured to withdraw last year after massive street protests. Renewed demonstrations again gripped Georgia as the bill made its way through parliament this time. Demonstrators scuffled with police, who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.
Papuashvili, the parliament speaker, reaffirmed after signing the bill that its main purpose is to “increase the resistance of the political, economic and social systems of Georgia to external interference.” “If non-governmental organizations and mass media want to participate in the decision-making process and influence the life of the Georgian people with funding from foreign governments, they must meet the minimum standard of transparency — the public must know who is behind each actor,” he said.
Georgia’s Civil Society Foundation, a non-government group, said Thursday that it was preparing to challenge the legislation in the country’s constitutional court.
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